This disclosure relates to food or beverage containers in the form of a sealed pouch or the like formed from flexible laminate material. The laminate typically includes at least a barrier layer and a sealant layer. Edges of the laminate material are sealed together via the sealant layer to create the pouch or other configuration.
A variety of food and non-food products are packaged using flexible packaging materials formed primarily of laminations of one or more of polymer films, metallized polymer films, paper, metal foil, and the like. In many instances, it is desirable to provide easy access to the contents of the package such that a user can provide minimal effort to open the package without the risk of injury. Packages that are easily opened, however, typically suffer from being poorly sealed resulting in the contents of the package being adversely affected (e.g., becoming soggy, drying out, etc.) by exposure to the surrounding environment.
Easy opening of such flexible packaging has been a longstanding problem to which much effort has been devoted toward developing a satisfactory solution by many workers in the field. Mechanical or laser ablation to form a notch or line of weakening in the laminate material, at which tearing of the material can be initiated, has been the typical approach. In the case of laser-formed opening features, a past approach has been to ablate partway through the thickness of the laminate to weaken it while attempting to not compromise the barrier function of the laminate. These techniques have not met with complete success in all cases, particularly when the unablated portions of the laminate are a highly extensible material, because the extensible layers may not tear easily. Instead, the highly extensible materials typically stretch, and thus, result in opening failures of the package.
Further, mechanical processes to form a notch or line of weakening in the laminate material add complexity and scrap to the manufacturing process. The equipment involved with mechanical processes, such as die-cutting equipment, typically involves numerous moving parts. Manufacturing processes involving moving parts typically malfunction more frequently and become misaligned, and thus, additional maintenance of the manufacturing process is required to repair and/or align the moving parts. Mechanical processes also can create scrap that may interfere with the manufacturing process or may need to be removed by a separate process, adding cost and complexity to the overall manufacturing process.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved manufacturing process to produce opening features for sealed pouches formed from flexible laminate that securely seals the contents of a package during the packing process but allows the package to be easily opened by the consumer.